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Route

The table below shows my proposed route from Land’s End to John O’Groats. It’s just shy of 1100 miles and will take 72 days to complete, not including the 15 days I’ve set aside for rest and family history research. I will continue to fine tune it both before and during the walk.

The Distance and Time estimates were derived from Where’s the Path, a fantastic website that allows you to plot your route on Ordnance Survey maps and save them in gpx and kml formats. While I took a certain amount of care in plotting my routes they are by no means 100% accurate and so I’m only using the estimates as a guide.

The time calculation is based on Naismith’s Rule. I’m not sure how accurate it is but I found it very useful to determine relative walking times, for example, the 14.4 miles from Boscastle to Bude is estimated to take 6h 20m while the 14.4 miles from Albrighton to Penkridge is estimated at 4h 58m.

Updated Feb. 15/10 – walking times updated based on new values from Where’s the Path (they seem more realistic now but of course the real test will be two months from now).

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12 thoughts on “Route”

I am also planning LEJOG next year, probably starting in early April but it will depend upon the weather. If we are still in the middle of winter then I’ll delay by a couple of weeks.

I have walked all the SWCP and certainly parts of the Northern coast are “testing”. I intend to go to Penzance before heading North East to Harlyn before following the SWCP around St Cadoc’s Point to Trevone. There are small diversions that you will probably be doing to get round rivers etc.

The main difference will be that I intend to walk up Offa’s Dyke to Bronygarth then turn off to get to Grindley Brook, Crewe, Macclesfield and then to Crowden to pick up the Pennine Way. The rest I think will be identical to you after Hebden Bridge.

My one question is why you are going up the Severn Way – not sure why I am taking the Offa’s Dyke route apart from it is a path that I have thinking of walking although the number of stiles has been putting me off!

Thanks for your comments. I considered Offa’s Dyke but the route through the Cotswolds or along the Severn Way brought me closer to several towns related to my family history research. Originally I planned to follow the Cotswold Way but a combination of comments from other walkers and the fact that I’ve walked the northern Cotswolds on several occasions led me to consider the Severn Way. Where I pick it up is still under consideration. I’ve pretty much ruled out following it from Bristol and my idea of picking it up west of Thornbury is also looking less likely. I might end up following the CW to Gloucester and then pick up the SW there. I may walk it all the way to Shrewsbury and then head north to a point where I can pick up a route east to the Pennine Way (after a brief visit to Chester … but not necessarily on foot).

Good luck with your planning. I’m getting close to booking a flight so I’m hoping the middle of winter and early April don’t coincide! That said I do remember watching a cricket match at Chester-le-Street in early April when it was abandoned due to heavy snow.

Hi Steve,
Will also be starting my lejog in early april!
routes all planned and rucksac is going through various stages of packed as i play with different loads!
if you are planning on bringing a GPS you can design and download gpx files at this site:-http://www.maptogps.com/
very usefull for measuring your final distances too!

Look forward to meeting you perhaps!

Andy Green
(i’ll be the bald fella with a small dog named Alfie, who i hope will complete the route with me!)

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your comments and the link! This is the first I’ve heard of http://www.maptogps.com but I have been using another great site called Where’s the Path and I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t already. I too have completed my route so now I’m focusing on accommodation lists.

I hope we meet up somewhere along the way … I’ll be the curly-haired hiker with an accent and an orange Osprey backpack (I admit a dog would be easier to spot).

Hi Steve
not sure if youve resolved your mapping yet?
think it was a postal problem if i remember correctly!
but if you still have troubles i can print you out an a4 copy of your route from software i have!.
this may be a little late getting to you but i hope it can help!
my complete mapping for the walk is about 200 grams where i reduce 1-50,000 maps to 15 x 10 km a4 map pages to cover a corridor around my route, although the maps dont show field boundaries they have proved to be adequate on my kit test walks that i have been doing.
If this helps let me know and i can start to get the printer humming!

Hi Andy,
Thanks very much for the offer … it’s much appreciated. I’ve decided to try and condense my maps, much as you have done. The WTP app I’ve been using also allows me to print out 1-25000 maps and so I’m thinking of doing this for some of the major routes, i.e. South West Coast Path, Great Glen Way, etc. as it’s unlikely I will deviate from the main trail.

I may also cut up a few of the maps and then tape them back together again when I get home. I’m one of those people who find it very difficult to cut up books and maps but in this case I think the end justify the means. Not to mention that I spent GBP300 purchasing the maps so I want to make use of them. I’ve heard of other walkers removing the laminated cardboard covers so I might try that first.

Thanks again for your offer … if for some reason my plans don’t work out I might take you up on it!

Steve-I came upon your website last weekend through a link from Mark Moxon’s site. You’ve put together a superb site!

I’ve made most of my JOGLE preparations and am starting to follow what other people are doing. It would appear that I’m working backwards in two ways: first I’m starting at JOG on July 3 and everybody else seems to be going the other direction; second, with one minor deviation my route follows yours all the way between JOG and Abbots Bromley (south and east of Abbots Bromley I follow Andy Robinson’s route to Knighton where I pick up Offa’s Dyke, and then continue to Cheddar and the SWCP). I should have just stolen your work and saved the effort. But, as you know, planning is half the fun. Or maybe more than half.

I’ve been struggling lately on the connections between Glossop and Thorpe. I’m tentatively planning stops in Chapel in le Frith and Youlgreave before connecting to Thorpe. But your route through Chelmorton and avoiding Youlgreave seems more direct. Have you researched B&B availability in Chelmorton?

It looks like you’ll be finishing up about 2 weeks before I start. I’ll be following your progress with great interest.

Hi Ken – thanks very much for your kind comments. I’ve been reading your posts on Mark’s site and your excellent blog as well (which I have linked to).

This section of the walk took me the longest to figure out and I tried several variations. In the end I decided to work my way north through Glossop as it is convenient for some family history research I want to do in Ashton-under-Lyne. My plan is to break the journey between Thorpe and Hayfield somewhere around Chelmorton but as you’ve likely already discovered there is no accommodation there, or at least none that is advertised online. There are one or two options in the Taddington / Priestcliffe area although I will have to have another look before I go.

By the way, I know of at least two others doing the JOGLE although both are starting in late May. If blogs are any indication it would seem that last year at least JOGLE was as popular as LEJOG. Hopefully you will glean some useful info from my blog as I make my way north … I certainly followed last year’s blogs with great interest. Thanks again Ken and good luck with your planning and as you say that’s half the fun … but after 12 months of planning I’m definitely ready to enjoy the second half!

Hey Steve
really excited to find your site via Mark Moxon’s.
i am reading all your entries avidly as i am now planning my own route JOGLON (does that exist? as i only want to reach London?!!!)
as i have only trekked in Nepal previousy, i am wondering how safe you experts think this would be for a lady travelling alone?
i am quite hardy/streetwise but wondered if i was being naive on the safety side of things – otherwise does anyone know of any sites where i may find like minded travelling companions for stretches of the journey? i dont plan to camp but would like to crack on each day rather than amble and wander…..
I am looking to walk / jog this spring / summer so cannot wait to keenly follow your own experiences & love this idea of Blogging enroute as i too am an avid carrier of my Netbook!!!
regards
Caroline

Hi Caroline,
Thanks for your comments and I hope you have fun planning your JOGLON (if it didn’t exist before it does now). Have you checked out Sophie Easterbrook’s blog, entitled “The Longest Dog Walk In Britain” (you’ll find a link on my links page)? She did a solo JOGLE last summer with her dog Patch and you should be able to contact her through her site. I think Mark’s guestbook is the best place to find potential travelling companions. I hope you enjoy following my blog and if you create one yourself please let me know and I’ll add it to my links page. Cheers, Steve.